MLB Player News

White Sox starting pitcher Jose Quintana was not at his sharpest Thursday against the Angels, as he exited the game in line for a loss, which would have been his second in a row. Fortunately, the offense bailed him out late, in a 5-4 win.

Quintana only really ran into problems in two innings, the fourth and sixth, as he allowed all four runs on four hits and a walk in those two innings. He allowed six hits and three walks that led to his four runs, over 6 2/3 innings.

Quintana struck out four batters, while throwing 66 of his 111 pitches for strikes. His ERA rose to 3.97 on the season, though he ultimately earned a no decision, to keep his record at 2-1. He is scheduled to make his next start Tuesday against the Red Sox. 

As if retiring the first 19 batters and finishing with a one-hitter wasn't enough, White Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale had to go ahead and up the difficulty last Sunday against the Angels. Sale revealed Thursday that he was pitching with a cracked tooth that had become abcessed.

"What happened was I cracked the tooth in half on our plane trip coming back from [New York] going to Chicago and I bit into something and my tooth went one way," Sale told MLB.com. "So I actually pulled half of it out on the plane and got the rest of it taken care of."

Sale opted to get the tooth fixed after his start, so he could avoid having to miss a start.

"I wanted to do it after my start so I had enough time to get over it and be ready for my next start," Sale said. "I got put on laughing gas and pain medication. I was out of it for a couple days."

He says he is over the issue and does not expect to have any problems Friday, when he faces the Angels in a rematch at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. 

A funny thing happened early in Thursday's expected pitcher's duel between Cy Young candidates Justin Verlander of the Tigers and Yu Darvish of the Rangers; the offenses spoiled the party.

Verlander lasted just 2 2/3 innings in the game as he ran into a huge amount of trouble in the third inning. Verlander allowed two hits to open the inning, and then threw a wild pitch and then walked in the first run of the inning.

He allowed another bases-loaded walk, but had a chance to get out of the inning with just the two runs allowed. Unfortunately, he surrendered a two-run double to Mitch Moreland and then a three-run home run to Geovany Soto to end his game.

This is just the fourth time in Verlander's career that he has not gotten out of the third inning, and the first since June 22, 2010. He allowed eight runs on six hits and two walks, with his first home run allwoed since his second start of the year.

Verlander falls to 2-2 on the season, taking the loss in a 10-4 final. Verlander's ERA jumped from 1.93 to 3.17 with this start. He will try to bounce back Wednesday, against the Indians. 

Rays starting pitcher Alex Cobb followed up his recent 13-strikeout performance with a solid outing Thursday night against the Red Sox.

Cobb, who made his eighth start of the season, gave up a run-scoring single to David Ortiz in the fourth for his only damage of the night. He surrendered one run and three hits over 6 1/3 innings of work, but failed to factor into the decision. He struck out six and walked two in a 4-3 defeat.

Cobb has struck out 19 in his last 11 innings of work. His ERA dropped to 2.89 after Tuesday's performance. The right-hander is scheduled to make his next start Tuesday at Toronto. He struck out seven and allowed just one run over seven innings of work in his previous meeting against the Blue Jays in 2012.

Rangers starting pitcher Yu Darvish squared off against Justin Verlander in one of the most highly anticipated pitching matchups of the season Thursday, but neither pitcher brought his best stuff. Darvish, however, picked up the win to move to 7-1 by allowing four earned runs in eight innings, striking out six batters and walking one.

Despite having the game in hand late, the Rangers allowed Darvish to throw 130 pitches, the second highest pitch count of any AL pitcher this season and the second time in three starts Darvish has thrown at least 127 pitches. He'll take a 2.97 ERA into a start at home against the A's Tuesday.

Rays manager Joe Maddon told reporters Thursday he's undecided about who will start Monday's game at Toronto in place of the injured David Price (triceps), according to the Tampa Bay Times. Maddon said Jake Odorizzi, Chris Archer, Alex Torres and Alex Colome are under consideration.

Odorizzi is the favorite to be recalled among Rays' beat writers. Archer started Thursday for Triple-A Durham, so he would be pitching on short rest if recalled. Torres was promoted to the majors Thursday and could be used in long relief. Colome last started for Durham Monday.

The Rays placed starting pitcher David Price (triceps) on the disabled list Thursday, which creates an opening in their rotation for Monday's game at Toronto. With Chris Archer making his scheduled start for Triple-A Durham Thursday, it appears Jake Odorizzi remains the leading candidate to replace Price in the rotation, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Rays starting pitcher Alex Cobb is coming off a 13-strikeout performance Friday against the Padres, which was an outing he relied heavily on his changeup. Out of 117 pitches, Cobb threw his changeup 49 times.

But he doesn't expect to keep the same game plan heading into his outing Thursday against the Red Sox.

"With a team like Boston, I won't have the same approach," he said to the Tampa Bay Times.

Cobb is concerned about cutting down on his home runs allowed. He's surrendered five in his last two starts after yielding two in his first five starts.

"That can't happen," he said. "I need to put the ball on the ground more."

Although no official announcement has been made, Rays starting pitcher David Price (triceps) seems destined for a stint on the disabled list and starting pitcher prospect Jake Odorizzi appears to be the most likely candidate to replace the left-hander in the rotation, suggests the Tampa Bay Times.

The Tampa Tribune also suggests Odorizzi is possibly the top candidate to replace Price.

Odorizzi, who was acquired in the James Shields trade this offseason, is 4-0 with a 3.83 ERA and .213 opponents' batting average in eight starts. He has struck out 47, walked 15 and has allowed seven home runs in 44 2/3 innings.

Looking at the most-viewed players list Wednesday night, I saw a pair of Rays' minor-league pitchers creeping up towards the middle of the list. Nothing gets past clever Fantasy owners, who realized that David Price suffered an injury to his throwing arm and could miss his next start.

Even though the team has not made an official decision on Price's status, Fantasy owners found their ways to both Jake Odorizzi and Chris Archer's pages, on the off chance that the team will call up one or the other.

Wait until the team tabs one of them to get the call in Price's place, however, whichever one does get called up would be worth grabbing in most Fantasy formats. Archer has a better pedigree as a prospect, ranking 36th on Baseball America's prospect rankings this season as opposed to 92nd for Odorizzi. However, Odorizzi has been better this season for Triple-A Durham.

Of course, this could all be moot if Price ends up missing no time. Keep a close eye on the Rays' plans when looking at either pitcher.